RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r A RECONNAISSANCE OF MA WAN 113 Captain Proctor in his passage from Chusan in the Endeavour in October last, came through what is called the Cowhee Passage. It was then blowing hard from the south east. The pilot carried him to the westward of Cowhee, and he anchored for the night in 8 fathoms water, soft mud, off the point L. In the morning he passed to the southward of the Bottoe Islands, having 5 and 6 fathoms over soft mud all the way in shore. On the morning of the 17th we got under weigh and passed close to the northward of the Bottoe Islands, we then stood over to the north shore, and worked up to the northward of the islands of Lonkoo25 and Lintin. The weather was so thick that we were frequently out of sight of land. At the turn of tide we anchored near some fishing stakes in 4 fathoms water, Lintin bearing SSE distant about 15 miles. On the 18th we weighed and worked up to Anson's Bay, and on the 19th we passed the Bocca Tigris, and reached the Indiamen at the second bar. The 20th in the evening the Jackall arrived at Whampoo. Signed: HENRY WM. PARISH Lieut. Royal Artillery N.B. The soil in general is free from stone, but the surface of the hill on the north west side of the island is covered with stones of a moderate size, and proper for building. Geographical Comments Any note on the value of Parish's survey of Ma Wan (Cowhee) and Lantao Island must inevitably take into account the state of nautical knowledge of Hong Kong waters at the time. This was probably sketchy; indeed, Parish himself states that he made a major revision to the outline of Lantao. His own work was very accurate, and his records of depths and currents off Lantao and around Ma Wan are confirmed exactly on modern charts26. His constant harping on the difficulties of navigation, however, cannot be ascribed entirely to the awkwardness of the local topography; bad weather (of which he had plenty), and a clumsy square-rigged ship, cannot have helped to raise his opinion of the area. The channels around Ma Wan and North Lantao contain some of the deepest and most dangerous waters in Hong Kong. Both on rising and falling tides, there is a concentration of currents of up to seven knots along both east and west coast of Ma Wan, and these converge in the channel between Lantao Island and ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1969 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d 50 R. G. GROVES Her 12-pounders returned the fire and forced the Chinese gunners to abandon their positions. The British advanced under cover of "Fame"'s guns and drove the militia from the surrounding hills. During the withdrawal the Tai Hang militia lost its flag, which was subsequently found by the British.65 Faced with these developments the Governor decided to hoist the flag the next day, 16th April, a day earlier than originally intended. He also ordered reinforcements to Tai Po. By mid-day on 16th April, the force there had been substantially augmented. It now comprised an artillery company and 500 men of the Hong Kong Regiment. H.M.S. "Brisk", accompanied by "Fame", stood by offshore. The flag was hoisted during the afternoon, salutes being fired by the artillery and by the ships, which were dressed overall. The pleasure of the occasion was diminished by fears that attacks would be made against both Tai Po and Kowloon. Reconnaissance patrols sent out from Tai Po had failed to make contact with the enemy and this seemed to strengthen the possibility of an assault on Kowloon. That evening the destroyers returned to Hong Kong and took up stations on either side of Kowloon peninsula. Both ships spent the night searching the hillsides with their lights. Detachments of Hong Kong Volunteers and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, took up positions at the old northern boundary, emplacing Maxim guns to command the main approach roads. These precautions were unnecessary. The Chinese were preparing for battle at Tai Po the next day (17th April). A supply of pigs was arranged and letters dispatched from an ancestral hall at Ha Tsuen, giving troop dispositions. The militia of Shap Pat Heung were told: "We beg that the armed men of your worthy district will take rice in the 4th watch (i.e. about 3-4 am), and proceed to Ha Tsun, to be ready to fight. Do not wait for the signal drum." Another letter was addressed "to our clansmen of the Ping Shan district." It directed: "we hereby inform you that 7 o'clock of the morning of the 8th [day, 3rd moon 17th April] has been fixed up as the date for commencement of the battle. The armed men of your worthy district should have their early meal at the 4th watch, and proceed at daybreak direct to Castle Peak ... Do not wait for the signal drum." ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g 154 JAMES HAYES account which is intended to provide a factual background to, and trace the major influences on, local volunteering over this long period. DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANISATION (a) 1854-1914 The different motivations, needs and attitudes of changing times provide some of the most interesting aspects of the history of the Hong Kong Volunteer Force. Danger is always a stimulus to volunteer efforts and the first Volunteers owed their origin to a foreign 'scare' occurring at a time of war with Russia and imagined insecurity in Hong Kong. This led the colonial authorities in June 1854 to take the initiative in calling for a corps of Volunteers for the defence of the lives and properties of themselves and their families in the temporary absence of a naval force sufficient to deal with an emergency. (It is interesting that Government called for an Auxiliary Police Force at the same time.) This call lost its magic when the emergency did not materialise and naval protection was restored, and for a few years there were no Volunteers in being.7 Attempts to form a new Corps in 1857 proved an utter failure, the subject was mooted in the press in 1860 without result, and the eventual establishment of a new body of Volunteers on 7 April 1862 can be traced to an enthusiast, Captain Frederick Brine, Royal Engineers, a regular officer who had formed the Shanghai Volunteers in 1861 and went on to form other corps at Hankow and Yokohama. This second Hong Kong corps was disbanded in May 1866. A third Volunteer Corps was formed in May 1878, arising out of the danger of war with Russia the previous year. It was entitled the Hong Kong Artillery and Rifle Volunteer Corps. Endacott gives a succinct account of this body: It numbered 150 by the end of the year, but when the crisis passed interest waned; there were quarrels, and all 7 See Vol, 1954, pp. 17-23 and Endacott, A History of Hong Kong, (Oxford University Press, 1958) pp. 90, 119. 8 Endacott, pp. 119-120. The Hong Kong Volunteers were organised as a battery of artillery with a band and rifle company added within a year see Major Arthur Chapman's article in Twentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc. (1908) p. 274. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g # HISTORY OF MILITARY VOLUNTEERS IN H.K. 155 equipment borrowed from the military had to be returned. Numbers fell, and by 1881 it practically ceased to exist. After Hennessy left, an appeal was made for government assistance, and Marsh, the administrator, agreed. The Volunteer Corps was disbanded, and a new Volunteer Corps consisting of two companies of Artillery was formed in November 1882, on a new basis which gave the volunteers more official standing.9 The Volunteer Ordinance No. 18 of 1882 regulated the reorganised body. The second and third Hong Kong Volunteer Corps spanned the period in which a renewed interest was taken in the volunteer movement in Britain. There had always been volunteer forces in Britain, especially during the Great War with France 1793-1814, but these then fell almost entirely into abeyance until 1859 when, because of a national panic arising from the hostile tone of the French Army and Government, and what was considered by many to be the defenceless state of the country, they were revived chiefly as rifle volunteers but partly as light horse, artillery and engineers.10 The large Volunteer Force that was formed at that time continued in being, gave valuable help to 9 Endacott, p. 179. 10 Sir J. W. Fortescue's County Lieutenancies and the Army gives a full account of the various forces raised at this period. More recently, an excellent account of one county's volunteer units is given in C. T. Atkinson's The Royal Hampshire Regiment, Volume 1, up to 1914, (the University Press, Glasgow, 1950, at pp. 375-377 and 430-435). Mr. Atkinson's account provides interesting background and comparison for the present article. He states that "like the original Volunteers of 1793-1814 the new corps provided their own arms and equipment and served at their own cost, except if called out for actual service. Volunteers were therefore normally of some substance, well-paid artisans, shopkeepers, clerks or even small professional men or manufacturers; people who normally stood aloof from national defence, they did not join the Militia and were equally unlikely to enlist in the Regulars or to aspire to a commission." Originally formed in many independent single-company corps, the volunteers were gradually converted into definite battalions and, later (1888) into volunteer infantry brigades. As with volunteer corps everywhere, opinions differed as to their need and usefulness, particularly in time of peace and, as Atkinson says, "it wanted enthusiasm, determination and devotion to carry on with the volunteer movement in those discouraging days, (in the 1870s and 1880s) and the country owes much to the officers and men who persevered." In Britain, the volunteers were converted into the Territorial Force on 1st April, 1908 and organised on the pattern of the Regulars into divisions and yeomanry brigades. Like the volunteers, the Territorial Force was specifically designed for home defence. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g HISTORY OF MILITARY VOLUNTEERS IN H.K. 165 kam Lo (1893-1959) as a private.40 He was Oxford-educated and a prominent barrister, related through marriage to the Ho Tung family, and thus could fit in. He was no doubt persuaded to join because of the emergency created by the General Strike of 1925-26; that is, if he had not joined earlier. It would be interesting to know whether he was the first, or among the first, Hong Kong Chinese to join the Corps.41 Because of the empire-wide Volunteer Movement and because of or perhaps despite two World Wars, the British volunteers have often been ex-Regulars, ex-Militia or, mostly, ex-Volunteers either at home or in other places. A few examples will show this general tendency over the years. H. H. Read, who sent a letter and photograph of the 1882 Volunteers for the 1937 Year-book, mentions that he had come out from England in 1882 “and having served in the 2nd Norfolk Rifle Volunteers (Windsor Review 1881) I joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Artillery which was commanded by Col. Crawford, R. A.”.42 Sir John Carrington, Chief Justice of Hong Kong, who was Commandant of the Corps 1896-1901, had served with the British Guiana Militia before coming to Hong Kong.43 Arthur Chapman, Commandant from 1907, had come to Hong Kong in 1889 as Assessor of Rates and had served in his native Yorkshire for some years as a member of the 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers).44 Many other examples could be quoted, including His Excellency Sir Thomas Southorn, Colonial Secretary and Officer Administering the Government in 1935 who, in his address to the Corps printed in the 1935-36 Year Book, was described as "a Volunteer in Ceylon for many years".45 In the later period, because of two world wars, the amount of previous military experience met with in the Volunteers has been considerable, particularly in the period between the wars when there were many persons in the Colony who had seen much service in 1914-18. When the Volunteers got going in earnest 40 Vol, 1954, p. 240. 41 But see note 28 above. 42 Y.B., 1937, p. 28. 43 J. W. Norton-Kyshe, The History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 2 Vols, 1898): see index. 44 Twentieth Century Impressions, p. 277. 45 Y.B., 1935-36, p. 4. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g HISTORY OF MILITARY VOLUNTEERS IN H.K. 167 scarlet collar and cuffs, black braiding, scarlet cord shoulder knots, and white metal buttons the same as worn by the late Corps. Blue cloth trousers with broad red stripes, the same as the Royal Artillery. Helmet of approved pattern with red pug-garee and white metal chin strap. Forage Caps of blue cloth with red band and red button on top." Under Section 30 officers were to provide their own clothing and accoutrements 'which will be as nearly as possible of the pattern and style of the Royal Artillery, substituting silver for gold lace' whilst under Section 31 a simple mess dress for all members under the rank of Commissioned Officers was to be approved and sanctioned, and could be worn as members thought fit on occasions of public entertainment. One of the interesting things about these early volunteers is that they were not confined to wearing uniform on duty but (Section 10 of the 1862 Rules and Regulations) were permitted to wear their uniform at any time, though considered as if on duty when doing so. This permissive attitude apparently persisted into the 1880s and it was not until the 1893 Act that soldiering was taken rather more seriously in this respect. The occasion was then taken to remove the, at one time fairly numerous, class of Honorary Member permitted under the 1862 and 1882 Rules who, on payment of an annual subscription to the funds of the Corps of not less than $5, could (1882 Rules) 'wear on all public occasions the uniform of the Corps and could take part in all shooting matches and other amusements' though not liable to be called upon to perform military duty. By 1893 the uniform had changed from blue to khaki. The Third Schedule to the Volunteer Ordinance of that year sets out the various uniforms appropriate to the various units and prescribes that to be provided and kept by officers. As usual, this was more elaborate than for the men and included mess kit as well as khaki. A photograph showing a gunner of this period is given in the 1954 centenary edition of The Volunteer ‘looking' as the writer recalled 'rather like a Sikh Policeman'.48 Another gunner of the same period describes the dress as being 'Khaki Uniforms with Indian Army topees in summer and blue-cloth uniforms and pill box caps in the winter. But though khaki was usual, 48 Vol, 1954, p. 44. 49 Vol, 1954, p. 43. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 26 P. H. COLLIN Major George Augustus Schomberg was then aged 36, and in command of the artillery company which accompanied the Royal Marine battalions. After staying at the Bogue for some days, the attacking forces moved up towards Canton. The authors of The Royal Marine Artillery, 1804-1923 give the general plan of attack: “It was arranged that the ships should bombard the city on its river front, in conjunction with a bombardment by a battery of heavy mortars, in charge of the marine artillery, which was placed in position on December 24th and 25th on Dutch Folly Island, opposite the southwest front of the city. Under cover of the bombardment the military and naval brigades were to land to the east of Canton and carry by escalade the eastern wall of the city. The First Brigade comprised the two Marine battalions and was led by Colonel Holloway. The mortar battery on Dutch Folly Island was manned by the Royal Marine Artillery Company, under Major Schomberg.” The bombardment at first proceeded according to plan, though Wingrove Cooke suggests that Schomberg's battery had difficulty in finding the range of Gough's Fort which was over 4000 yards away, on the other side of the city. After the successful landing of the troops, relates the Royal Marine Artillery history, "Major Schomberg's gunners, whose task it was to clear the way for the assailants at the point of escalade, began shelling the eastern wall between the two gates, firing across the city, at daylight. They kept up their bombardment until the moment fixed for the assault, just before nine o'clock; until, indeed, after the first scaling ladder parties had reached the walls and the foremost of the stormers had mounted to the ramparts. Major Schomberg was watching with his glass from a crow's nest above the battery, a signaller beside him, but, in spite of that, some of the leading men of the stormers, who had swarmed up the ladders too impetuously and got in advance, were hit by pieces of shell before their presence on the ramparts could be made out from Dutch Folly Island.” Details of the casualties occasioned in this incident vary according to the source of information. Cooke simply states that "the men had been brought up so near the walls, that the shells from our ships were falling among them", while Fisher says "the French escaladed on our left, but advanced to the attack a few minutes before the time agreed upon, an act of impatience which caused ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h NINETEENTH CENTURY WATER-COLOURS OF CANTON 27 a loss to them as well as to ourselves, from shells fired by the Navy". On the other hand, Mr. Loch, Lord Elgin's attaché with the attacking forces, reported back to Lord Elgin on 5th January 1858 that "by the bombardment being continued till 9 o'clock instead of ceasing at 6 o'clock a.m., as was originally intended, we came under the fire of our own shells from the ships".12 Once Canton was taken, the Artillery company formed part of the garrison. The authors of the official history of the Royal Marine Artillery make no reference to the "Jingal pic-nic" incident, but do mention a sortie against the Chinese on June 2nd 1858, in which Major Schomberg took part. Col. Fisher also relates this incident, in which the British forces lost several men and suffered from the extreme heat, but again does not give the names of the officers concerned. For the rest of the summer after the voyage to the Peiho (not mentioned in The Royal Marine Artillery), Major Schomberg seems to have spent his time amusing himself as best he could in Canton. In September the garrison was enlivened by the visit of "poor Albert Smith" as Col. Fisher calls him. Their visitor, who seems to have been permanently suffering from stomach trouble and the heat, was taken on a round of the sights, including the Honan Temple (picture number XXXIII), and on 12th September 1858, notes that he had dinner with "Captain" Schomberg. Fisher comments that apart from horse-racing "cricket was one of the first sports we introduced; and the Tartar parade-ground at the foot of the heights formed really a very good ground". Major Schomberg was not much of a cricketer, and the "Hong Kong Register" for the 9th March 1858, reports that in a match played in Canton between two military teams he scored a duck in both innings. The Royal Marine Artillery gives the date of Schomberg's return to England as January 1859, which fits in well with the date on the last of the paintings: curiously, there is no mention of his name on any of the lists of passengers in Hong Kong newspapers for that month, but this may be because he returned on a troop-ship. In later life Schomberg went on to be Deputy Adjutant General of the Royal Marines. He was made a general in 1877 and was knighted in 1896. He died at the age of eighty-six in 1907. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 28 P. H. COLLIN NOTES 1 Wingrove Cooke, China, London, 1858. p. 254. 2 Ibid., p. 279. 3 This was J. Scarth, who in 1860 published Twelve Years in China, illustrated from his own sketches. In this work Scarth has little to say of the events in Canton during the Arrow War, pointing out that the subject had been fully treated by Wingrove Cooke. 4 Albert Smith, To China and Back, London, 1859, p. 27. 5 J. Dyer Ball, Things Chinese, 1900 edition, p. 38, gives the following description. "Gingals, or Jingals, are long tapering guns, six to fourteen feet in length, borne on the shoulders of two men and fired by a third. They have a stand, or tripod, resembling one of a telescope”. 6 Lt. Col. Fisher, Three Years' Service in China, London, 1863 p. 25. 7 Ibid., p. 72. 8 E. Fraser & L. G. Carr-Laughton, The Royal Marine Artillery. 1804-1923, London, 1930, p. 459. I am indebted to Miss J. S. Crockett of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, for drawing my attention to this work. 9 Ibid., p. 462. 10 Cooke, op. cit., p. 329. 11 Fisher, op. cit., p. 4. 12 Parliamentary papers on Lord Elgin's mission to China. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 ADVENTURERS IN HONG KONG 55 not serve his full sentence because he was released on grounds of ill-health. But, as Des Voeux notes, the day after his release from Victoria Gaol he was seen avidly betting at the Happy Valley Race Course. He was, clearly a great card and popular with drinking circles in Hong Kong. The Telegraph was an evening newspaper. After Fraser-Smith's death, J. J. Francis became publisher and Chesney Duncan its editor. 28 John Joseph Francis (1839-1901) was educated in Dublin and intended for the Catholic priesthood. But instead of entering the Church he enlisted in the Army, coming out to China in the Royal Artillery during the Second China War. He took his discharge in Hong Kong and commenced the study of law in the office of a Mr. Owens, solicitor. He was admitted to practise as an attorney in 1869 and entered into partnership with another solicitor and soon acquired a lucrative practice. Ambitious, he gained admission to Gray's Inn and was called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1877. By 1888 he was the Colony's leading barrister. Francis was extremely touchy and truculent: in 1895 he returned to the Governor a silver inkstand, given to him in recognition of his work during the plague, on the grounds that the gift did not sufficiently acknowledge his services. He died of apoplexy at Yokohama's Grand Hotel in 1901. A fitting end: he was an apoplectic soul. Francis lived at 'Shirley House' in Bonham Road, a commodious residence with extensive grounds. 29 A. Macmillan, Seaports of the Far East, London, 1923, p. 366. 30 22 November, 1888. The Hong Kong Hotel, situated in Pedder Street, was originally managed by Parsees; in 1866 it came under European management and soon became a first-class hotel with all the facilities of a good West End hotel. 31 7 January, 1889. 32 Soulié states that Mayréna on his way to Hong Kong marooned Afong on Hainan Island but that the intrepid Chinese took passage on a junk and appeared in Hong Kong to haunt the King of the Sedangs. 33 China Mail, 7 January, 1889. 34 George Murray Bain (1842-1909) was born and educated at Montrose, Scotland. He joined the China Mail as a sub-editor and reporter (some say printer) in 1864. In 1875 he became sole proprietor of the China Mail and in 1879 took over the editorship of the paper himself. With N. B. Dennys he started the China Review in 1872. The China Mail was edited from Wyndham Street, a short distance away from the Hong Kong Telegraph on Pedder's Hill. Bain, unlike Fraser-Smith, appears to have been pious, temperate, and acutely respectable. 35 Hong Kong Telegraph, 27 December, 1888. 36 'Drey' was the name of a Sedang locality. 37 China Mail, 24 January, 1889. 38 Hong Kong Telegraph, 25 January, 1889. 39 7 January, 1889. 40 Sir Hugh Clifford, Heroes of Exile, London, 1906, pp. 69-70. Clifford states that it was the Hong Kong merchants 'who had paid his (Mayréna's) passage and had supplied his Majesty with a little ready money' and that they had been actuated partly by a desire to remunerate one from whom they had derived so much entertainment'. Sir Hugh Clifford (1866-1941), a colonial administrator, who served in Pahang from 1887 to 1899, was, apparently, in Hong Kong in late 1888; it is possible that he had taken local leave but I have been unable to confirm the fact. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p 237 And then a good old China Hand you'll Be. Such references brought drama down to the daily life of the theatre goer in Hong Kong. HOME GROWN PLAYWRIGHTS The Hong Kong Daily Press in 1894 published a play by Henry E. Pollick entitled "Soso: A Drama of the Day". It does not seem to have been staged in Hong Kong. "The Cook: an Idyll of the Peak" was produced at the Theatre Royal in 1912. It was written by R.M. Crosse, of the Royal Artillery. The plot revolved around a search for a cook when a mess of the 445th Regiment, comfortably stationed at the Peak, had to replace their competent cook who had disappeared a few days before the expected arrival of the Brigadier General. Two years later Mr. Crosse wrote another more ambitious piece which he characterized as "a musical stunt in two acts" entitled "The Idol's Eye". The first act was set in England at a garden party. The second act's setting was the How Kwik monastery in the Province of Kwangtung. One of the principal characters Lai On is the "boy" of an official in the Chinese Maritime Customs. He penetrated into the monastery to secure the Idol's jade eye by the pretext of becoming a novice. In case any should have been put off from attending by the problem of the language a Chinese character might use, they were informed that “Lai On speaks both grammatical and ‘Pidgen' English during the piece. Grammatical English is used where Lai On would naturally talk and think in Chinese. 'Pidgen' is reserved for his conversation with foreigners". The How Kwik monastery scene enabled Mr. Crosse to introduce Chinese religious ceremonies and temple music into the play. At the time, the public was being captivated by musicals with an Oriental setting, and Mr. Crosse, who was soon to return to England, hoped to have his work produced there. I do not know if he was successful. † Pollick may not have been a resident of Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 17 JOHN JOSEPH FRANCIS, CITIZEN OF HONG KONG, A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE WALTER GREENWOOD V.H.G. Jarret writing about Francis in the South China Morning Post in the 1930s commented "It seems strange that so well known a man should not be commemorated in any way”. When one considers the number of streets and roads in Hong Kong named after less prominent Government officials and businessmen the force of that comment will, it is hoped, be appreciated by the end of this essay. Francis was born in Dublin in 1839, the eldest son of William Francis Aylward, an Inspector of Irish National Schools, and Mr. Walter Greenwood J.P., M.A. (Cantab.), Barrister of Gray's Inn and the North Eastern Circuit, a Permanent Magistrate in Hong Kong AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This essay was hurriedly researched and written in snatched hours and does not claim to be comprehensive, much less to do justice to Francis. I hope it may lead to interest in his life and career and I should be grateful if anyone who finds new information about him would send it to me at 26, Great Bounds Drive, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4OTR. It is based mainly on skimming through newspapers and dipping into the standard histories of Hong Kong. I have also received generous help from many quarters. First I should like to acknowledge my gratitude to the staff of the Hong Kong Public Records Office for their ever friendly and willing help; my thanks go also to the staff of the Supreme Court Registry and University Library, the Secretaries of the Bar Association, the Law Society, the Jockey Club and the Volunteers, Mrs. Lisa Chee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Po Leung Kuk, Fathers Naylor, Pagani and Pittavino (for searching church records), Mr. Michael Clancy (for information about “Stonyhurst”), Mr. Carl Smith (for information about Francis' marriages) and Mr. Colin West (for arranging the cleaning of Francis' tombstone) in Hong Kong; the Parish Priest of All Saints Church, Borella, Colombo; Father Turner of Stonyhurst College; the staff of the Public Records Office, Genealogical Office and Public Registry in Dublin; Mr. Julian Walton of Dublin and Waterford (for supplying me with material about the Aylward family which he also presented to Dr. Ken Smith of South Africa for use in his biography of Alfred Aylward); the Editor of the Irish Ancestor, the staff of the Public Record Office, Royal Artillery Institution, University and Crown Agents in London; Mrs. Theresa Thom, Librarian of Gray's Inn; Mr. Leo D'Almada Q.C. in Portugal; Dr. Walter Mautsch in Germany; Mr. Nigel Osner in London; Pamela and Eric Russ in Bournemouth; my wife (for her patience whilst I practised my drafts on her); and Mrs. Mary Whitticase for her great kindness in typing my manuscript. Copyright Walter Greenwood 1986. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 18 WALTER GREENWOOD Teresa Agnes Redmond. His father died in 1847, as did two of his four younger brothers. He was fortunate to attend, from 1852 to 57, Jesuit boarding schools in Ireland and he then went to the Jesuit Novitiate at Beaumont Lodge, Windsor. It appears that he intended to train for the priesthood but towards the end of the 1850s he joined the army giving Francis as his surname. His brother Alfred suggested that his reason for this was a scandal which contributed to their maternal grandmother's death, but Alfred's reliability seems suspect. Whatever the reason, the tradition, as expressed in newspaper obituaries, is that Francis was in the Royal Artillery and came to China in 1859, saw service there, was then stationed in Hong Kong and after a time bought himself out of the army and settled down as a civilian. The first record I have found of Francis in Hong Kong relates to his marriage in July 1864 to Anne Shirley, who was born in England in 1824. She was a Protestant and there were two ceremonies, one at St. John's Anglican Cathedral performed by the Rev. J.J. Irwin the colonial chaplain, and one in the sacristry of the Roman Catholic Church performed by Father Raimondi (later the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong) who detected no impediment save disparity of religion for which he gave a dispensation. I have found little reference to Anne Shirley. She died at Bournemouth in March 1890. The next record I have found of Francis is in the Government Gazette for 1865. He was included in the list of jurors, his occupation being given as clerk and his address as 2 Mosque Street. He does not appear in the jury list for 1886 and the reason may be that he had become a solicitor's clerk. At some time Francis became articled to William Gaskell who was admitted to practise as an attorney and solicitor before the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1846, being seventh on the Roll. In 1867 Gaskell had his office at 2 Club Chambers, D'Aguilar Street. Francis said that Gaskell used to leave the office most mornings for the Hong Kong Club saying “you catch 'em and I'll skin 'em". Gaskell died in December 1868. It appears that Francis had not completed his articles and he transferred for a short time to Edmund Sharp who had been admitted in 1863 and who served as Crown Solicitor from 1871 to 1883. Francis was admitted, after examination, as a Proctor, Attorney and Solicitor in January 1869. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h The Rivals. 1861 saw some entertainment on board H.M.S. Scout, and in March 1864 there was a Prussian ship, the Gazelle, in port, and its amateur society performed three plays, two of which were by Kotzebue and Körner, whether in German or English is unknown, but the audience "frequently expressed their approval by enthusiastic applause”. As was stated in the introduction, there were times in the history of Shanghai when the Settlement was threatened from outside and foreign troops had to assist in its defence. Thus in the early sixties several regiments were brought down to the city. Both the British 31st and 67th regiment came out in 1861, to sail home in July 1863 and July 1865 respectively. The Royal Artillery started operations in 1862. After the military tasks had been largely completed in 1863, there was time left for whatever amusement could be organised — among these, of course, theatricals. Mid-March 1863 the amateurs of the 31st staged Lover's The White Horse of the Peppers and Brough's Crinoline "before the largest audience of the season"." Some weeks later the Royal Artillery scored an equal success. Shortly before their return to England the 67th amateurs put on Selby's The Unfinished Gentleman on June 17, 1865, which was "well attended and gave great satisfaction"." On more than one occasion the officers and local amateurs joined forces for the staging, for instance, of Morton's farces Where there's a Will there's a Way and Fitzsmythe of Fitzsmythe Hall on March 26, 1863 "before a crowded audience of subscribers to the fund for defraying the expenses".42 Travelling Companies Until the heyday of theatrical entertainment in Shanghai during the years 1864 and 1865 only one professional company visited the city: On August 9, 1856 Messrs Baker, Woodward and Montgomery ("formerly of the New York Serenaders") advertised that they would give, on the 14th, a "Grand Ethiopian Musical Soiree" which “could not fail to please all lovers of fun and harmony" and at which among others "the sidesplitting Negro farce 'The Nigger Doctor and his Patient, or The First Lesson in Surgery' "' would be performed. Ethiopian Soirees were another name for the minstrel shows given by blackened whites; they originated in the early 1830s and became hugely popular, especially in America, but later also in Britain,40 and to some extent in Shanghai too. These Ethiopian entertainments were given sometimes by amateurs (May 15, 1854) and sometimes by touring companies like the one mentioned above and later, in November and December 1864, by the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 215 Programme: C.M. Von WEBER: "Der Freischütz", overture; by Messrs Essex and Ewing, piano. Sir Henry BISHOP: "Foresters sound the cheerful horn“ (glee). Heinrich PROCH (1809-1878): "Within the grove's deep shadow", a song by Mr. J.P. Tate, W.A. MOZART: String quartet No 7 by Messrs Tate and Howell (violin). Ewing (viola) and Essex (cello). William HORSLEY (1774-1858); "By Celia's Arbour" (glee), F. MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY: "Andante, presto and allegro vivace" (from?) by Messrs Essex and Howell. Ibidem: “Andante and finale" (from?), by Messrs Essex and Howell, Sir Henry BISHOP: "Sleep gentle lady" (glee), William Vincent WALLACE (1813-1865); **The Bellringer", a song by Mr. Essex, F. von FLOTOW: “Allessandro Stradella", fantasia, by Messrs Essex and Howell, William HORSLEY: "See the chariot at hand", song, L. van BEETHOVEN: "Egmont", overture, played on two pianos by Messrs Essex and Ewing. Th: Theatre Royal (G) R: This was the first occasion on which the names of the amateur musicians who entertained the public were mentioned. Some can be traced in the **Shanghai Almanac for 1862”. others belonged to the military forces. Thus the names have come to us of the following gentlemen: H. Cope and E.C. Essex (both of Geo. Barnett & Co). D.A.C.G. Ewing. F.R. Gantwell (Silk broker), A.A. Hayes Jr (of Olyphant & Co), Howell, Inglis, J.M. Nixon (of Blain, Tate & Co). J. Priestley Tate (of Blain, Tate & Co; Municipal Council member 1861-1862) and J. Wheatly (of Reiss & Co). In general the Herald was very satisfied: "It was pleasing to see the gentlemen who volunteered to throw aside for the nonce the cares of business and entertain con amore their less gifted fellow residents with a charming chamber concert. Everything was conducted in a quiet gentlemanly manner so that we imagined ourselves in a drawing room more than a theatre. There was no attempt at grandeur of display or extraordinary performance on special instruments which characterize too much the quasi-musical taste of the day where the composition of the author is sacrificed frequently to the execution of the performer and the audience is led to think more of the latter than the former". These were rather stringent remarks for someone living in an area where very few opportunities arose to compare musical qualities of instrumentalists. Yet the argument of faithfulness to the author's or composer's intentions crops up from time to time and that was obviously regarded as important by the Herald. Unfortunately the acoustics of the theatre were not of the very best so that "Mr. TATE's delicate tenor voice (in the song by Proch) could not fill the house sufficiently for all to hear the diminuendo passages of his beautiful voice". (NCH 18.4.1863). The Lancashire Relief Fund had been established in order to help those in Britain who had become a victim of the stoppage of cotton imports from the Southern states of America (due to the Civil War), with the result that numerous labourers in the mills were laid off. 29.4.1863 (Wedn) Performances by the amateurs of the Royal Artillery. No titles of plays were recorded. Th: Theatre Royal (G) R: In consequence of the "great success" a "Second Fashionable Night” would be given on May 4th (NCH 2.5.1863). 4.5.1863 (Thur) As on 29.4.1863. 1.8.1863 (Sat) The last of a series of performances by Mr. Smythe's company. Soloists: Miss Amelia Bailey (singing) and Martin Simonsen (violin) Th. N.N. (H) Page 240 Page 241 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 217 2.3.1864 (Wedn) Performance by the amateurs of the Royal Artillery. No plays are mentioned in the announcement (NCH 27.2.1864). 4.3.1864 (Fri) Performance by Mrs. Greig: "dramatic reading and English ballad music” with the cooperation of Mr. Marquis Chisholm, piano, and the Rhenish Band. N.N. (H) R: This was an evening at which the Herald predicted that "ladies may without impropriety be present". Mrs. GREIG had had “a most successful career in India and the colonies" and it was the first time she had come to Shanghai (NCH 27.2.1864). 28.3.1864 (Mon) T. KORNER: "The Governess" (“Die Gouvernante') T: Farce (1 act) A.F.F. Von KOTZEBUE: "The Harvest at Home" N.N.: Bullrick at Kroll" C: Amateurs of His Prussian M.S. Gazelle Th: On board ship(?) N: It is not recorded in which language these pieces were played: titles and authors are those given by the Herald. Of Kotzebue's play I have not been able to find a German equivalent. HED, however, mentions some plays with the same title by British authors: Thomas Parry (1848) and Charles Dibdin (1787), as well as some by unknown playwrights. R: Perhaps in some fear, the Herald noted with a sigh of relief that "the evening passed off without a single contretemps" (NCH 2.4.1864). Curiously enough the only ship in port with the name "Gazelle" was a British merchantman which had arrived there from Hankow on the 22nd. 30.3.1864 (Wedn) M.W.B. JERROLD: "Cool as a Cucumber" (1851) T: Farce (1 act) J. KENNEY: "Raising the Wind" (1803) T: Farce (2 acts) J.S. COYNER: "Duck Hunting” (1862) T: Farce (1 act) C: Amateurs of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps F: Prologue, spoken by Commm. R.C. Antrobus Th: N.N. (H) N: First performance of the season R: After a brief period in which the actual names of resident-amateurs had been published, there was a reversion to the old practice of stage names, at least probably for most actors. A whole list was printed in the Herald (Messrs Talbot, De Jones, Robinson (were these latter two the same as those active in 1858?), Carnegie, Coke, Dolittle, Smith, Blister, Buttons, Bellingham and John; and Mesdemoiselles Olivia, Pipchin, Robinson and Sally), of whom only Mr. Talbot may have been genuine. As usual the female characters of the farces were played by men ("prettier and more graceful amateur ladies than we have ever seen before"), a generally horrid sight for the serious theatregoer. Not so for Shanghailanders for "large numbers of residents who were desirous of obtaining admission were excluded for want of room” (NCH 2.4.1864). A detailed review had appeared in the Daily Shipping News of 31.3.1864, no longer available. Increasingly, instead of full reports, summaries from the daily edition were published until one has to resort entirely to the Daily News; of Survey). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 219 Colins: Mrs. C.R. Faylor Love Laughs at Locksmiths Robin: Mes. C.R. Faylor Juliac: Mrs. E. Yeanians Dame Durden: Mr. E. Yeamans. Paddy Druden: C.R. Faylor Only an advertisement for this performance was published in the Herald of May 7. The stage often has its own laws as to the gender of the participants. In amateur theatricals, men dressed up as women à l'outrance, whereas in a professional company like the present one male characters were personified by ladies and vice versa! 14.5.1864 (Sat) Performance by the amateurs of the Royal Artillery. No titles of plays recorded. Th: N.N. (H) R: NCH 21.5.1864 17.5.1864 (Tue) Repeat of 14.5.1864. 26.5.1864 (Thur) J.M. MORTON: “Whitebait at Greenwich" (1835) T: Farce (1 act) C. MATHEWS: "Little Toddlekins” (1852) T: Comic drama (1 act) J.M. MORTON: “Poor Pillicoddy” (1848) T: Farce (1 act) C: Amateurs of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps F: Epilogue spoken by R.C. Antrobus, commander of the S.V.C. Th: N.N. (H) N: Final performance of the season R: For the occasion Edward LAWRENCE, who was a "practitioner at Law and Notary Public” according to the “Shanghai Almanac for 1862”, had written an epilogue which was read by the commander of the S.V.C., Robert Crawford ANTROBUS (member of the Municipal Council 1864-1865). And, as if to give more weight to its reception, the Herald added that “many of the ladies joined in the applause” (NCH 28.5.1864). 28.5.1864 (Sat) **An Evening at Home**: "Songs interspersed with anecdotes and conversation of the most lively description”. C: Mr. J.R. Black Th: Olympic Theatre (H) 31.5.1864 (Tue) As on 28.5.1864. 3.6.1864 (Fri) As on 28.5.1864. 13.6.1864 (Mon) "An Evening at Home - Great Jacobite Night" by Messrs. J.R. Black and Marquis Chisholm. Performance of the play The Advantages of Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Rising of 1745 (No piece with this title appears in HED), as well as ballads and songs (including 'Vi ravviso from Bellini's "La Sonnambula", act 1). Th: Olympic Theater (H) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 OBITUARY HUGH GIBB Mr Hugh Gibb, a long-term Member of Council of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, died in August 1990. With the permission of The Daily Telegraph, we reproduce here an obituary which appeared in that newspaper on Friday, August 24, 1990. HUGH GIBB, who has died aged 75, was a maker of sensitive documentary films, chiefly about Asia, which combined artistic distinction, rigorous research and a strong cultural message. His much applauded seven-part series, The Borneo Story, made in the mid-1950s, won a Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival. Another seven-parter, Images of the East shot in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand for BBC television during the 1960s gave a unique record of the old Indo-China, particularly of the monuments at Angkor in Cambodia. Gibb was re-working his Angkor films, in the hope that they would widen sympathy for the Cambodian people and perhaps lead to the neutralisation of the site under UNESCO's aegis, when he was struck down by a sudden illness. A stickler for detail, Gibb was perhaps the last of the "one-man" producers: he did the research, wrote the scripts, filmed, edited, wrote and even spoke the commentaries of his films. His style on location was exigent, authoritarian and sometimes irascible, and this discouraged many of his would-be collaborators. Gibb's extreme individualism perhaps accounts for the incomplete state of his later work. Several ambitious films about China, particularly its great waterways, were never finished. A Lloyd's broker's son, Hugh James Gibb was born in London on March 15, 1915, and educated at Rugby and Oriel College, Oxford. He followed his father into Lloyd's before enlisting in the Royal Artillery on the outbreak of the Second World War. Page 15 Page 16 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1992 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x 90 Three Bold Adventurers to fight alongside the Nien rebels. After being captured and carried to Chin-chiang in a cage, he was saved by two British artillery officers serving with the Taiping forces. The third time was in Hankow when Mesny took Damström along with him as a heavy-weight. The incident occurred after Mesny 'arrested' the dishonest Chinese merchant who had swindled Dupuis. [These incidents are probably not in temporal order]. Dupuis, Jean A French merchant born ca. 1828, who arrived and lived in Hankow in about 1860. He built up a thriving trade in armaments. Fluent in Chinese, he introduced Mesny to the Szechuanese officials whose invitation to serve with the Szechuan Force changed his life. Mesny remarked that Dupuis was a distinguished explorer and 'conqueror of Tonkin.' Gill, William J: born Bangalore 1843 Served in India after being commissioned into the Royal Engineers. Inherited a fortune and indulged his passion for exploration. One of his travels was through north Szechuan province, where first he travelled alone and then later with Mesny to Burma. He wrote The River of Golden Sand in 1880, and after several other travels, in Tripoli and Afghanistan, he was murdered by Bedouins in 1882. Giquel, Prosper M. [1835-1886] A French naval officer who arrived in China during the Second China War. Formerly Commissioner of Imperial Maritime Customs at Ningpo and Hankow. He assisted the Sino-French 'Ever Triumphant Army' that fought alongside Tso Tsung-t'ang's force in Chekiang province to recapture Hangchow and Ningpo, and later commanded the force in operations that led to the recapture of Hangchow, for which he received high rank and honour from the Ch'ing government. His principal achievement was the construction and administration of the Foochow Arsenal in 1866, and dockyard with its fleet of warships. He was the only foreigner besides Gordon to receive the honour of the Yellow Riding Jacket. Page 105 Page 106 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1992 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x 93 the first anti-foot binding societies in China. Lovatt, W N Ex-Royal Artillery serving in Honan Road in Shanghai. He, with Massagorra, taught Mesny the skills of guns and gunnery in 1864. He later became a Commissioner of Customs in Korea. Mason, Charles H. A. W. A young Imperial Customs Assistant who was the main figure in the 'Mason case'. He joined the Customs in 1887 and after an involved plot was arrested for smuggling arms into China with the intention of providing foreign weapons for the Ko-lao Hui, a secret society whose aim was to overthrow the Imperial government. Massagorra, W Formerly Royal Navy and subsequently mate on one of the large lorchas plying the Yangtze: he, with Lovatt, taught Mesny gunnery. Mayers, W F Chinese Secretary at the British Legation in Peking in the mid-1870s. His best known work was the Chinese Reader's Manual. [Mesny culled a large number of items from Mayer's Manual and included them in his Miscellanies] Richard, Timothy Baptist missionary in Shantung and Shansi provinces. He met Mesny in Taiyuan Fu where Richard was superintending a branch of the English Baptist Mission. Richard was renowned for his humanitarian work during the great famine in Shansi in 1877-1878. Su Chin-wang [Shan-ch'i ## or Shan Ai-t’ang #E#: born ca 1865] The Manchu Prince with whom Mesny had breakfast in Peking in 1892 when Su had not yet inherited his title and was then simply the captain of the Emperor's Bodyguard. A black and white photograph ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1994 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g 122 the 49th Regiment (Hertfordshire Regiment consisting of 25 officers and 426 men) and a Sapper unit. The Force commander, Sir Hugh Gough accompanied the Left Column. The Centre Column under Lieutenant Colonel Montgomerie consisted of detachments of Royal Artillery and Madras Artillery, a Sapper unit and a rifle company of the 35th Madras Native Infantry. The Right Column, under Colonel Schoedde, consisted of the 26th Regiment (The Cameronians) under Lieutenant Colonel Pratt, the 55th Regiment (Westmorland Regiment) and a unit of Sappers. 6 The British plan required the 2,200 troops to be landed on the right flank, on the west face of the line of low-lying hills some two miles to the east of Chapu Bay. From there the three battalions would separate, one, the Centre Column, to hold the base, one, the Right Column, to pass round the base of Huang-p'an Shan to cut off the Chinese retreat and the third, the Point or Left Column, to storm the heights of Kuan Yin Shan. On 16 May the Nemesis and the Phlegethon reconnoitred the northern coast of the Bay of Hangchou and on the 18th they landed in a bay some two miles east of the city without opposition, with the Left Column advancing along the heights parallel to the coast, whilst the rest moved inland to the rear of the heights on which the enemy was posted. Elements of the British Naval Brigade, consisting of some 700 men, landed within a quarter of a mile of the harbour and advanced straight for the harbour battery and then on to the town itself. Only about one in ten of the Chinese force had firearms, the rest being armed with bows and spears. The British plan so took the Chinese by surprise that they fell back in disorder, throwing away their arms and fleeing in every direction. The Chinese having made their nominal stand in the hills had left their rear wide open allowing Chapu to be taken without any major problems. After a battle lasting more than four hours, Chapu was taken by the Right Column and the Naval Brigade with the British casualties of nine killed and fifty-five wounded. Of these, in addition to Colonel Tomlinson, the loss to the Royal Irish were one serjeant and three other ranks killed, and Lieutenants E. Jodrell and A. Murray, one serjeant, one drummer and twenty-seven other ranks wounded. Major Jeremiah Cowper was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on the day following the battle, in succession to Colonel Tomlinson. The Chinese defenders fled to the west, towards Hangchou leaving the British with the town which was promptly looted by the native Chinese. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 In order to deliver fresh water to the public. It is interesting to note that, in order to conserve fresh water, a salt-water mains system for flushing was investigated in 1921 and again in 1927 but was not pursued at that time. Airfields The original aerodrome was formed on a wedge of land comprising some 10 hectares (350m long by 275m wide) which had been reclaimed from the shallow waters of Kowloon Bay by a private housing development company established by Sir Kai Ho Kai and Mr Au Tak and bounded on the east and west by large open nullahs, with the first plane taking off in 1924. The reclamation then came under the control of Government in 1927 after the company failed. Government subsequently arranged for the airfield to be extended in 1929 and 1931 to some 83 hectares, partly using as a filling material hydraulic fill, obtained by dredging from the harbour, which was then covered with about a metre of decomposed granite and contained by a concrete blockwork seawall extending some 1.2 kilometres. The three open nullahs crossing the airport field were all covered by 1930, the concrete slab decks being propped by central piers. A short 457m-long tarmac runway, primarily for civilian use on an east-south-east/west-north-west alignment, together with hardstandings, jetty, control building, offices and a new piled civil hangar near the south-western extremity of the airport were completed in the later thirties which enabled Kai Tak to become viable, not only for flying club and military purposes, but more importantly for scheduled commercial operations which began in 1936 at a time when mail took precedence to passengers. One significant improvement noted at that time was the provision of a concrete slipway for seaplanes to replace the old tedious method of lifting them ashore with a steam-operated crane. Reports that three Royal Air Force squadrons were being sent out to reinforce Hong Kong's defences shortly before the Pacific war prompted planning of a second airport, at a site near Pat Heung (Shek Kong). In 1938 the ground was levelled and grassed over but the scheme was abandoned in early 1940 with the realisation that it would be within range of Japanese artillery following their invasion of Guangdong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 110 dying which already barricaded the street. The head of the column fell literally "like the Moor's swath at the close of day." # 11 The form of cannon termed a howitzer was intended for firing its projectiles in a high trajectory. In effect it is a compromised mortar, mounted on a carriage so as to be more easily transported. Because this lessened the effectiveness of shot or grape they were mainly used with shell, which they could lob over defensive walls. In order to be effective it was, of course, necessary to correctly aim the cannon. The cannon barrel was mounted on a carriage that could be slewed sideways, but the larger pieces mounted on board ships were quite cumbersome, and were mainly aligned with the ship. Guns were elevated with a screw jack or wedges, to give the correct range. The aiming, or 'laying' of a gun was a skilled task, as indeed was the whole operation of a gun. This had led to artillery men being formed into the separate regiments of the Royal Artillery. Troops or batteries of artillery were then attached to infantry forces. Finally the European troops had Congreve rockets. These carried a cast hollow head allowing bursting charges and a fuse to be inserted, thus being a type of shell. They were relatively inaccurate as they had a tendency to veer off line, and many officers at the time considered them to be of doubtful use. However, they certainly had a psychological effect against unsophisticated natives in some of the Victorian wars, and there is no doubt that they did inflict casualties. There is one spectacular example of a rocket finding the magazine of a junk and blowing it up.12 12 As for the Chinese, on the face of it their guns were similar to those of the European forces. They were muzzle loaders and smooth bored, however, the quality of the guns themselves was not good. The Chinese method of casting cannon was with the muzzle down. This meant that the quality of the metal at the breech was suspect and in spite of using more metal, the guns were more likely to burst.13 The extra metal also made them very heavy,14 and this would make them difficult to aim. Most of the Chinese guns were mounted in shore batteries, al- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 158 days later, coincidentally, on 23 September 1861, a small postscript to the China coverage of The Illustrated London News established that there was indeed a link between Hong Kong and British actions in China. The item took the form of an illustration of a Monument to the Royal Marines, erected in the Cemetery at "Hong Kong, China". In explanation of the illustration, it read: “The front inscription is as follows; 'In memory of the officers, non-commissioned officers, buglers, and privates of the Brigade of Royal Marines (Light Infantry); and the non-commissioned officers, buglers, and gunners of the battery of Royal Marine Artillery, who fell in the execution of their duty in China during the years 1857, 1858, 1859, and 1860. Erected by their comrades.' The slab on the right-hand side gives the names of three officers and 48 men killed in action; whilst that on the left shows the total loss from all causes to have been 257; and the numbers wounded were 27 officers, 16 sergeants, 20 corporals, four buglers, and 155 gunners and privates. The rear slab records the services of the brigade, from the taking of Canton in Dec. 1857, with the various expeditions in the neighbourhood, the Taku Forts in 1859, the defence of Shanghai, and the brilliant campaign in the north, which ended in the Treaty of Peking on Oct. 24, 1860." Hong Kong, SAR, China At midnight, 30 June 1997, Hong Kong was returned by Britain to China. The Monument to the Marines "who fell in the execution of their duty in China during the Years 1857, 1858, 1859, and 1860" still stands, known only to the few Hong Kong residents today who take an interest in things of the past. And to most of these few, the past events which the Monument records are too distant in ethos as well as in time even to be uncomfortable; but are felt rather as irremediably alien. This brief survey and commentary on the contemporary China coverage in one British periodical during the period 5 January to 23 September 1861 may perhaps offer reassurance that, like us today, the contemporary British public before, during and after Lord Elgin's China Campaign was also more comfortable when the soldiers could come ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 248 A Quarter for the Brigade Commander 2 Blocks of Officer's Quarters 1 Block of 2 Warrant Officer's Quarters 1 Block of 12 Warrant Officer's Quarters 1 Block of 12 Married Soldier's Quarters The work took about a year to complete and in 1937 a further building programme was initiated to provide additional accommodation, messes and a church. At the same time artillery defences were also being built. The Artillery Defences Design of fortifications was the responsibility of the Directorate of Fortifications and Works at the War Office. This department prepared the drawings of fortifications and issued them to the various army commands, which in turn issued them to their contractors. The Commander Royal Engineers at the various commands modified the designs to suit local requirements and local materials. The designs took the weapon to be used and protection from enemy fire as the main considerations, but standardisation was also introduced as far as possible to assist in construction. The siting, positioning, and grouping of structures were also obvious major considerations in the building of defensive works, batteries, and other types of fortifications. Modernisation and reorganisation of the defences in Hong Kong in the 1930s was also governed by the Washington Treaty, an agreement signed in 1921 by nations with interests in the Pacific Region. Article 19 of the Treaty proscribed any increase or major improvements in heavy weapons and any improvements in coast defences other than those already planned and agreed to by the signatories to the Treaty. Gun emplacements were not regarded as fortifications but any disused emplacements were to be destroyed when new ones were erected. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 251 The Stanley Battery The 9.2 inch three gun battery at Stanley Fort was probably one of the most modern of its kind in 1937 in spite of the fact that the guns were second-hand, having come from the batteries at Devil's Peak and Mount Davis. The Mark X 9.2 inch 28 ton Breech Loader was the premier coast defence gun at that time and was used extensively in all major defences. In the UK it was sometimes railway-mounted so that it could be moved about together with its ammunition wagon. Rail-mounted guns, before being fired, had to be secured with heavy iron guys known as chain pickets to stop them toppling over from the force of their recoil. In fixed guns like those at Stanley Fort, the recoil was absorbed by a spring accumulator mounted to the rear of the gun. The Mark X had been developed from the Mark IX in 1899. It had a single motion breech mechanism with an electrical or percussion firing mechanism. Its maximum range was 29,200 yards, which meant that the upper gun at Stanley, which was mounted on a traverser, could reach targets in Kowloon and also the Lema Islands to the south of Hong Kong. The weight of the Mark X B.L. including breech assembly was 28 tons, and the weight of the cradle mounting nearly 130 tons. As previously explained, the guns were transported from their old batteries by sea, as the roads would not have supported such heavy axle loads. The transportation of the guns and the construction of their huge concrete bases would have been carried out by civilian contractors, but the actual installation of the guns would have been undertaken by the Royal Artillery using a special portal crane known as a gantry crane. The installed guns would have been disguised with huge camouflage nets draped over them, and protected from the weather when not in use by canvas tarpaulins. The concrete gunhouses built over the two lower guns by the Japanese were probably not bombproof casemates and would only have given the gunners protection from the weather and from strafing by enemy fighters. Judging by old photographs of the gunhouses, the arc of fire must have been severely restricted. The Stanley Battery, situated at the south-east corner of the peninsula, was made up of three gun emplacements and a large number of magazines, bunkers, and other battery support buildings spread over a fairly wide area. Most of these structures are still in existence. Page 285 Page 286 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 255 Laya and to assist in the Korean War. In 1957 the Royal Artillery lost one of its major stations in the colony described as "the last of the great Gunner bastions on the island," when 27 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA, which was stationed at Stanley Fort, was sent back to the United Kingdom for reorganisation. From then up to the handover to the Hong Kong Government in 1994, Stanley Fort was occupied by British infantry battalions on 2-year tours of duty. In 1997 it was handed over to the People's Liberation Army who are the present occupants. NOTES 1 Lord Stanley, Edward Henry, 15th Earl of Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1845. REFERENCES "Stanley, Hong Kong - The First Three Years" by Lieut. G.P. Shearer, R.E., Royal Engineers' Journal, June 1938. "British & Indian Armies on the China Coast 1795 - 1985", by Alan Harfield, A&J Partnership, 1990. "The Guns & Gunners of Hong Kong", by Denis Rollo, The Gunners Roll of Hong Kong 1992. "Eighteen Days", by Col. D.R. Bennett, R.A.P.C., The Royal Army Pay Office, Hong Kong, 1976. "Lyemun Barracks: 140 Years of Military History", by Phillip Bruce, 1987. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 267 troops in quarantine. These were built from a framework of bamboo poles lashed together, with walls and roofs of palm leaves and woven rush mats. Similar structures can still be seen today on vacant lots erected at times of Chinese festivals for Cantonese opera performances. The only difference is that today zinc sheeting is used instead of matting. The matsheds were not popular with the troops as mosquitos and other insect life infested the sheds. During typhoons or heavy rains the sheds were liable to collapse and leave the troops exposed to the weather. The building of proper barracks was therefore imperative for the health of the troops. The first permanent buildings at Gun Club Hill were constructed in 1903-4 for infantry but were soon afterwards occupied by the Asiatic Artillery which was originally made up of Sikh and Punjabi Mussulman Companies known as Gun Lascars. They became the Hong Kong Asiatic Artillery in 1891 and the Hong Kong-Singapore Battalion Royal Artillery in 1898. In 1905 four companies were housed in the newly completed barrack blocks flanking the parade ground. According to PRO records construction was "brick and granite and best Manilla Hardwood; outer walls of Amoy Brick and inner walls of Canton Brick." By 1909 other buildings had been built and a layout of the barracks at this time shows an Infants' School, Followers' Hut, Sikh/Mohammedan Cookhouse, NCOs' Quarters, Guard House, Sergeants' Mess, Officers' Mess, and a small Medical Centre. Most of these buildings have now been replaced with more modern buildings, but two of the original barrack blocks facing the Parade Ground still exist, together with the Medical Centre and the Officers' Mess although somewhat changed in appearance. Photographic evidence in the Public Records Office shows that the buildings were brick-built two-storey colonial style blocks with pitched Chinese tiled roofs and balustraded 'Venetian' verandahs. The Officers' Mess seems to have undergone an external facelift in the 1930s with an annex added on to the south elevation facing the Chatham Road entrance. The barrack blocks and Medical Centre were remodelled and altered in the 1960s but retain much of their original colonial style. The Medical Centre, formerly the Soldiers' Canteen, numbered Block 11, is a single storey rectangular white painted brick-built block with an eight bay front verandah with a flight of steps at each end Page 300 Page 301 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 269 are formed in stepped voussoirs. The first floor verandah is divided into bays by rusticated granite pillars which support the entablature and parapet wall to the roof. Ground and first floor verandah balustrades consist of heavy moulded copings on pierced and mortised infill panels with heavy plinths supported on moulded horizontal cornices emphasizing the storey heights. Flights of entrance steps lead up to the ground floor verandahs on both sides. The 1935 addition comprising the front entrance, dining room, and anteroom is built in similar style but is three storeys in height due to the sloping ground. There is a five-centred elliptical arch and a panel with the Royal coat of arms over the main entrance. On the parapet wall above there is a plaque engraved '1935.' Internally there are several interesting fireplace surrounds and period joinery but little else of architectural interest. Evidence in the P.R.O. indicates that the present infill panels to the verandahs may not be original and that the roof originally was pitched with gable ends and had several large chimney stacks projecting above the ridge. Part of the original roof still remains. The Officers' Mess is a Grade 2 historical building. The last British Army Units at the barracks were 28 Squadron, the Gurkha Transport Regiment, also 247 Gurkha Signal Squadron. The United Services Recreation Club occupied part of the site, and 10 Intelligence and Security Company occupied the old Colony Club building, having moved in on the handover of their former site, Number 3 Camp, Argyle Street, to the Hong Kong Government in 1977. Prior to occupation by the Gurkhas, the barracks were usually occupied by British infantry battalions. In recent years occupying British units have included the First Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (1967), First Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers (1969/71), First Battalion The Black Watch (1971/73), and the First Battalion The Royal Hampshire Regiment (1974/76). The 25th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, is also recorded at Gun Club in 1948. Some of the earliest troops to be stationed in Kowloon were the 99th Regiment (now the Second Wiltshires) and the Second Royal Welch Fusiliers, some of whom were quartered at Gun Club upon their arrival on January 13, 1899. Other Kowloon based units included the 91st Argylls (1888), First Battalion The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (1892) and the First Battalion the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 277 Appendix A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY NOTES 1860 Kowloon peninsula ceded to Britain after the China Wars. 1862 1863 Gun Club Hill & King's Park areas were tented encampments with horse lines in the Chatham Road area. 2nd Bttn. 20th Foot arrived in Hong Kong in December and encamped in Kowloon. 1885 Gun Club Hill range in existence but no buildings. 1888 1892 1899 1904 1905 1909 1910 91st Argylls arrived in December and spent first days in Kowloon matsheds at either Whitfield Bks or Gun Club. Argylls replaced by 1st Bttn. The King's Shropshire Light Infantry and quarantined in Kowloon matsheds because of smallpox outbreak on the troop ship from Alexandria. Several companies of Royal Welsh Fusileers quartered at Gun Club following disembarkation. Barracks Blocks, Officers' Mess, Guard House, Soldiers' Canteen, etc. in existence. Col. Lewis, RE(Rt.) visited Gun Club which housed the Asiatic Artillery, King's Park described as "very rough" presumably still being used for army training. Rosary Church built same year in Chatham Road (then named De Voeux Road). Mohammedan/Sikh Cookhouse and Followers' Hut in existence. 1st Bttn. The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry at ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 224 seemingly well prepared for paying imperial honours. Surgeon Cree relates in his diary that upon the signature of the Treaty of 1842 on board the British flagship on 29 August, a plain yellow flag was hoisted at the main and saluted with twenty-one guns. On September 14 following he noted that "all ships of the Expedition hoisted the yellow flag at the main - the royal standard of China - and at noon fired a royal salute of twenty-one guns." 50 There was a distinct awareness of the fineness of the country itself. Of Central China, Sir John Davis declared that “it yields to none in the whole world, and is equalled by very few."5 Lieutenant Wyndham Baker of the Madras Artillery also waxed lyrical on the subject.52 Even Sir Henry Pottinger, the Plenipotentiary responsible for forcing the Treaty of Nanking upon the Chinese, had called China "this superb country,” in his despatch to the British Foreign Secretary announcing the event. Several decades earlier, Sir Henry Ellis, member of the Amherst Embassy in 1816, had written that "it was impossible to travel through the Emperor of China's dominions without feeling that he has the finest country within an imperial ring-fence in the world."54 53 None of the books and letters consulted contains the derogatory or offensive terms for Chinese in use later in the century. British sailors jocularly used the term “Fokies" for their opponents,55 and referred to the mandarins as “mad-marines,"56 but the Chinese themselves are not here dismissed as “Chinks,” “Chows," "Heathen Chinee” or “Mongolians" (as they so often were at a later time, in those English-speaking countries to which they had gone in search of gold or employment) but invariably as "the Chinese" or "Chinamen." Indeed, many of the authors pay tribute to the honesty and good manners of the ordinary people. In short, our naval, military and civilian writers of the period were still generally respectful of China, its Court and its inhabitants.57 These facts are worth keeping in mind when considering the Opium War. We should be careful to view the conflict in the context of its own time, and not of that later period when Western attitudes towards China had changed for the worse. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 232 Routledge, New Edition, 1859) George Henry Mason, The Costume of the Chinese (London, William Miller, 1804) Lieutenant John Ouchterlony, The Chinese War: An Account of All the Operations of the British Forces from the Commencement to the Treaty of Nanking (London, Saunders and Otley, 1844) "An Artillery Officer in China, 1840-1842," Blackwood's, 1964. The Cree Journals, The Voyages of Edward H. Cree, Surgeon R. N., as Related in his Private Journals, 1837-1856 Edited and with an Introduction by Michael Levien. (Exeter, Webb & Bower, 1981) Jack Beeching, The Chinese Opium Wars (Hutchinson of London, 1975) Captain Sir Edward Belcher, Narrative of a Voyage Round the World, performed in Her Majesty's Ship Sulphur, During the Years 1836-1842. Including details of the Naval Operations in China, From Dec. 1840, to Nov. 1841 (London 1843, Dawsons of Pall Mall reprint, 1970) Stanley Lane-Poole, Sir Harry Parkes in China (London, Methuen & Co., 1901) Edgar Holt, The Opium Wars in China (London, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1964) Sir Henry Keppel, A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns (London, 3 vols., 1899) 1881) Laurence Shadwell, Life and Campaigns of Lord Clyde (London, 1881) "Oh for the Joys of England! Lt Rolando Bridgman's Letters From China and Hong Kong, 1842-1843", in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society Vol.14 (1974) Sir John Francis Davis, Chinese Miscellanies: A Collection of ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 47 therefore separated into their own camps, for their own protection and also so that they could not mix with the British troops in general. They were supervised by their own British officers and NCOs. In death Chinese members of the CLC were buried in separate cemeteries or, if buried in cemeteries with Commonwealth dead, in separate areas apart from them. However, deceased British officers and NCOs serving with or transferred to the CLC were buried amongst other Commonwealth fallen. In life and in death the Chinese were isolated [reflecting the attitude of Europeans towards Asians in general and non-Christians in particular] In mid-September 1917, Alec Paton, stationed at Zillebeke, Ypres, and serving with the Royal Garrison Artillery, obtained permission to visit Reninghelst to meet Claude Betts, a friend who had been promoted to company commander in the CLC. Before leaving Paton was in conversation with one of his officers who commented that he thought 'it would be a good idea to use Chinese as infantry, there being so many of them.' Adding that he wondered what the Germans would do if they saw ten thousand Chinamen coming over the top? In reply a wag said 'Run and bring their washing, I should think.' Claud Betts had learnt a few Chinese phrases as his labourers could speak no English and they were cunning enough to pretend they could not understand sign language if such meant work. As Alec Paton was passing through Reninghelst he noticed a sign, erected by HQ for the troops, which read ‘DO NOT SPEAK TO THE CHINESE.' Underneath, also in large letters, a wit had written, 'WHO THE HELL CAN?’. Once again, to quote from the Directorate of Labour's Notes: Complaints. The Chinese, in China, are accustomed to seek redress of grievances by means of written petitions: locked petition boxes should be provided. The Notes also included the following facts regarding the Chinese: a] The Chinese coolie has an inherent contempt for foreigners b] He comes here purely and simply for money, with no interest in the war. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 52 found four such phrases." They added, in answer to a question, that the CWGC commemorates all members of the Commonwealth forces who died in conflicts regardless of the circumstances of their death. Those who died following sentences given by Courts Martial are commemorated in exactly the same way as anyone else. Officers and NCOs supplied by the British consisted of volunteers from the British Army as well as British officer-candidates from China, consisting of missionaries and members of the China Customs Service from Treaty Ports. Some were promoted from the ranks. Those from the Chinese Customs Service in Shanghai include Arthur H H Abel, who was gazetted as a 2Lt in May 1918; George B Appleton, who enlisted with the 16th Bn Middlesex Regt in February 1915 and transferred to the CLC in April 1917 as a sergeant, being promoted to 2Lt in May 1918; Charles N Cross, who in August 1917 joined the CLC as a 2Lt, transferred to the Royal Air Force in July 1918 and transferred back to the CLC in March 1919 as a captain; Arthur HF Edwardes served with the CLC from April to July 1917 as a 2Lt, and in August 1917 was promoted acting captain commanding No 59 Company CLC in Belgium; Ernest N Ensor, enlisted in December 1914 in the 9th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers and, after promotion through the ranks, to captain in August 1916, was transferred in July 1917 to command No. 27 Company CLC. Amongst his medals, and being Mentioned in Despatches, he was awarded the Order of the Wen Hu, Fifth Class, for military services. Hugh G Lowder served in various Army battalions before transferring to the HQ CLC from which he was demobilised in March 1920 in the rank of captain. He also received the Order of the Wen Hu, Fifth Class, in 1919. Walter Moore served two and a half years with the CLC, from June 1917 to October 1919. John Murphy served with the Royal Marine Artillery, first in German New Guinea and German West Africa, then in France and also on HMS Warspite. In September 1917 he transferred to the Army and from the Armistice to May 1920 he was attached to the CLC conducting coolies from France back to China. Norman Travers was commissioned as a 2Lt into the CLC in May 1917 and was attached to the Royal Flying Corps, with Chinese, on forward aerodromes, subsequently working also in the forward area in trench, ammunition and lines of communication, finally assisting clearance of the devastated areas. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 60 remembered that the cemeteries and memorials are primarily places of individual commemoration and excessive signage can detract from this. There are many cemeteries and memorials in Belgium and France where members of the Commonwealth forces are buried and commemorated. The Menin Gate at Ypres commemorates over 54,270 who died in the Ypres Salient, from October 1914 to the 15/16th August 1917, and who have no known grave. Those who died from 17 August 1917 to the end of the war and have no known grave, over 34,880, are commemorated on panels at Tynecot, which is also the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world with 11,856 graves. In France, the memorial at Thiepval commemorates over 72,000 Commonwealth members who died on the Somme and who have no known grave. At none of the above are there any names of members of the CLC. At Etaples, there are over 11,400 graves of World War I, including that of one Chinese member of the CLC, Fu Puzhen, 9436, a Ganger of the 56th Company. As Keith Stevens remarked, Fu here, alone, represents his countrymen with a population amounting to a quarter of the world's total. The last cemetery the Friends visited was Les Baraques Military at Sangatte, south of Calais. Of the 197 named CLC members buried there virtually all were from Shandong province and the metropolitan area of Zhili. Only two came from other provinces, Anhui and Hubei. There were several seamen commemorated who most probably would have been Cantonese from the south and recruited by the Royal Navy in Hong Kong. There are also graves of British personnel who served with or were attached to the CLC. We saw the grave of 2Lt E S Burley, Army Labour Corps, attached to the Chinese Labour Corps, who died on 15th February 1919, aged 44 years, whose parents came from London, England and whose wife lived in South Africa. On a later personal visit to this cemetery, with my wife, we located the grave of Gunner M E Barnes of the 43rd Company, Royal Garrison Artillery who transferred, in the rank of corporal, to the 135th Labour Company, Chinese Labour Corps Royal Garrison Artillery. He died on 19th November 1919, aged 49 years; and was a native of Lewes in Sussex. Also the grave of Private M Cooper of the 2nd/6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, who transferred to the 88th Labour Company, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2001 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g 370 considerably out of sorts and suffering from gout. During the journey Jeremy Reid, one of the guards belonging to the Royal Regiment of Artillery, died: His disorder was occasioned by a surfeit of fruits, the man having eaten no less than forty apples at breakfast! On reaching 'Pekin' Macartney received letters informing him that Lion and other ships were leaving Chusan and that only Hindostan was remaining (Chusan being an island in the bay between Shanghai and Hangzhou, which was preferred, over Hong Kong, as a base by the British Government). Hearing that the ships had left Chusan upset the Chinese officials who wished, now the visit was over, for the Embassy to leave the coast of China as soon as possible, the limit of forty days prescribed for visits from without the Kingdom having been reached. Because of this the Embassy was then more or less directed to start on their return journey and left 'Pekin' on 7th October 1793 for Chusan travelling down the Grand Canal from Tientsin to Hangzhou. In Tientsin they were treated to a sumptuous banquet: ...excellent mutton, pork, venison and poultry of all kinds, fruits in great variety - peaches, plums, apples, pears, grapes, chestnuts and walnuts and several others new to them. The journal describes in some detail the construction and working of the system of sluices on the Grand Canal. These were unlike the locks on British canals but consisted of a single sluice which was raised by windlass, in fairly flat country, through which the boats were hauled when the sluice was raised. At Hangzhou it was confirmed that Lion and the other ships had left for Canton being urgently in need of medicine for the men on board. Hindostan was quite incapable of accommodating the entourage and all its heavy baggage and it was agreed, as though it was simply a matter of course, that the party would continue the long journey by river and with some trekking overland on ponies between the north and south flowing rivers, and so to make their way to Canton. They left Hangzhou on ponies on 14th November and reached Canton on 19th December. This was an extraordinary and intrepid journey. Macartney's ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 104 Pottinger Battery were relocated to Bokhara Battery, Cape D'Aguilar in 1939 or 1940 (Rollo: 201). The batteries' arc of fire at Devil's Peak in 1938 reached the southwestern tip of Lamma Island and the south of the Po Toi Group of islands, whereas those at Stanley reached beyond the southwestern part of the Lema Islands (Dangan Liedao). Thus, before the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong on 8th December 1941, there were no guns at either the Gough or Pottinger Battery. However, the sites at Devil's Peak had become part of the Gin Drinker's Line in the 1930s. This Line runs from Gin Drinker's Bay (Kwai Chung) in the west to Port Shelter in the east. The Devil's Peak was a crucial component of the Kowloon segment of the Line. The Japanese had good maps about the location of the defences of Hong Kong. Some remarks on the defence works at Devil's Peak are registered in a map produced in 1939/1940 (Empson 1992). Defensive positions in the military sites on Devil's Peak were taken up by the 5/7 Rajputs of the Hong Kong Garrison on 12 December, after the fall of the Shing Mun Redoubt in the western part of the Line three days before. The sites at Devil's Peak witnessed heavy defensive fighting by the 5/7 Rajputs and the First Mountain Battery of the Hong Kong and Singapore Artillery. The latter expended 400 rounds with their four 3.7 inch field guns before the evacuation of the defenders to Hong Kong Island on the morning of 13th December. The defenders destroyed all equipment before they crossed the Harbour during the night. Thereafter, the Japanese used the sites to bombard the Island and the defenders' gun returned fire. After the defeat of Japan, the Devil's Peak sites were abandoned by the British, although the batteries on the Island side of Lei Yue Mun Pass were reoccupied and put into active military use until the mid-1980s. Before 1997, there had been little news connected with British military activities at Devil's Peak, save for an air accident in the 1950s. In March 1956, two Royal Navy Sea Hawks struck fog-shrouded Devil's Peak, killing the pilots and an elderly lady (Eather 1996). A surviving example of the 9.2-inch guns that were deployed on the batteries at Devil's Peak can be seen at the Buyu Battery (Siu 1997: Plate 6 at p.76) that guards Humen (The Bogue). This battery was modernised in 1883 with the assistance of British and German military experts. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 118 Kong PRO control no. MM-0477) 'Hong Kong Devil's Peak, 2-6" B.L. Gun Battery, Details of No. 1 Emplacement - Gough Battery' chopped by the Inspector General of Fortifications dated 28.5.70 (with a Public Record Office reference WO78/4140 RP3578) (Hong Kong PRO control no. MM-0469) 'Hong Kong Devil's Peak, 2-6" B.L. Gun Battery, Details of No. 2 Emplacement - Gough Battery' chopped by the Inspector General of Fortifications dated 28.5.70 with a Public Record Office reference WO78/4140 RP3578 (Hong Kong PRO control no. MM-0470) Colonel Robertson, L. (28.7.1914), Devil's Peak: Copy of the Original Design prepared by Lt. A. F. Day and coloured by him to show progress up to 1.7.1913. 1:120 sketch drawn by Colonel L. Robertson, Chief Engineer, South China Command, (WO78/5432), PRO441(1). Colonel Robertson, L. (28.7.1914), Devil's Peak Redoubt as Constructed. 1:120 sketch drawn by Colonel L. Robertson, Chief Engineer, South China Command, (WO78/5432), PRO441(2). (b) On military operations Hong Kong Government, History of the War in the Far East. Confidential File CR5751/47, Colonial Secretariat, Hong Kong Government, PRO HKRS163-1-656. History of the Part Taken by the 5th BN 7th Rajputs in the Defence & Fall of H.K. Against the Imperial Japanese Army, Dec; 8th - 25th. (WO172/1692), PRO16947. Royal Artillery Report on Operations in Hong Kong in Dec 1941. PRO17849. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 March 1909 June 1909 December 1909 Taikoo Docks completed. Visit of the Inspector General of the Forces (Inspector of Royal Garrison Artillery). The Committee of Imperial Defence came to the view that the three 9.2-inch guns at Devil's Peak could well be opposed by 12x12-inch, 12x8-inch, and 18x7-inch guns of three battleships in the event of hostility, A report stated that the new emplacement for the 9.2-inch gun, originally earmarked for Pottinger Battery, was nearly ready and the pedestal was in position. The gun was a 9.2-inch BL Mark X on a carriage Barbette Mark V. Rollo, 1992, p.85 Rollo, 1992, p.87 Rollo, 1992, p.83, p.85, p.187 The 6-inch BL Mark VII was still there but was recommended for removal. 1910 The third 9.2-inch gun for Devil's Peak was completed (for Gough Battery). Rollo, 1992, p.89 22 November 1910 Service instructional practice at Pottinger Battery Rollo, 1992, p.86 8 January 1912 War Office Approved Armaments for Devil's Peak: Pottinger Battery: two 9.2-inch BL MX guns Rollo, 1992, p.91 April 1912 28 July 1914 5 August 1914 Gough Battery: one 9.2-inch BL MX gun The 6-inch gun at Gough Battery was removed. Colonel L. Robertson, Chief Engineer of the South China Command signed the 1:120 sketches "Devil's Peak: Copy of the Original Design prepared by Lt. A. F. Day and coloured by him to show progress up to 1.7.1913," and "Devil's Peak Redoubt as constructed" showing progress up to 1.7.1914. Declaration of war against Germany by Britain. The establishment for the Eastern Fire Command at Devil's Peak: Post at Redoubt: 1 officer + 10 soldiers Gough Battery: 1 officer 15 soldiers Roilo, 1992, p.187 PRO central reference 441 (1 & 2) Rollo, 1992, p.96 A stone inscription showing the year 1914 can be found in the redoubt. 130 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 456 south-westerly monsoon in the summer. As the Cantonese saying has it, ‘Even with a 1,000 taels of gold it is not easy to buy a flat facing south.' On the steep hillside with its lush vegetation, opposite and well above Realty Gardens, exists even now what is sometimes still called Cheung Po-Tsai's Path. Shown on maps, starting more or less opposite and a little higher up than May Road, although heavily overgrown and not negotiable in parts because of landslips and other obstructions, the footpath goes around and finishes up on the southern slopes of the Peak. Cheung was Hong Kong's most notorious and fearsome pirate who was at the zenith of his powers during the first decade of the 19th century. He was reputed to command as many as 600 junks, 40,000 fighting men - including a few British ex-Royal Navy gunners and "own" the prettiest girls. No firm evidence, however, appears to exist that he himself ever walked along that path. From the fung shui aspect Victoria Peak with its spurs, and Seymour Cliffs to our southeast, symbolise strong backing. The "cosmic breath" of fung shui rides on the wind and is dispersed and checked by watercourses. Realty Gardens' location brings blessings, which are just, and inevitable rewards deserved by the skilful and the diligent. Watercourses stream down the mountain keeping fortunes flowing into our flat and protecting our well-being. Some fung shui specialists maintain that the spiritual energy on the Peak is the best in the whole of Hong Kong. At the far western end of Conduit Road, close to the junction with Kotewall and Po Shan Roads, a steep, narrow road branches off. This is Hatton Road. It leads to the Peak. About half way up it passes the remains of Pinewood Battery, which has been turned into a picnic spot. This artillery emplacement was constructed by the British, starting in 1903. The whole area around Hatton Road is relatively unspoiled and provides a wonderful recreational area for Conduit Road residents to stretch their legs and to appreciate nature. Many of the elderly Chinese who walk up there daily for exercise call it "Long Life Road." Sadly however, while talking of heritage, with the villa at No. 55 (completed in 1919) having been demolished in the summer of 2000, there is only one pre-World War Two building still standing in Conduit ================================================================================